radio part number?

[kfor]

Hi,
my cds got stuck in my 6 disc changer (apparently a common problem). Ford in my town said they would not touch it and to take it to a stereo shop. The stereo shop said I could use the radio and leave the cds stuck or I could get the cds and have no radio, but since the radio made an awful noise every time I started my truck I figured it was practically broken already. I took my chances and told them to get the cd's and yes, they broke the radio. So now I am trying to replace the radio. Ford says the part number that came off of the radio is not a part number (unfortunately we threw it away after I copied the part number) but I am sure I wrote it correctly so whatever. The Ford service writer says there are many part numbers depending on the factory where it came from, etc. etc and they don't seem to know how to get a correct part number either which I think is a bunch of hooey but whatever. Anyhow, does anybody know how to ensure I get a compatible radio? I have found several that look right on the front but as I understand it they might have different plugs, etc. Is there some way to decode the part number and know which part numbers would also work? There is also a factory installed DVD system which apparently complicates matters, the stereo shop says they wont guarantee that any after-market models would function with the DVD system the way the original radio did. This really doesn't seem like it should be so hard. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.